Driver made way through NASCAR Drive for Diversity program

Paulie Harraka will make his Sprint Cup debut this weekend and a bit of history along with it when he takes the green flag Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

Harraka, who is of Syrian descent, will be the first driver from the NASCAR Drive For Diversity program to make a Sprint Cup Series start.

Harraka participated in the program for four years from 2007-2010, scoring three victories in the K&N Pro Series West and a third-place finish in the 2010 points standings.

“The program has done a lot for my career, there’s no question about that,” Harraka said. “When I entered the program, I had (just) won a bunch of go-kart and Legends car races. … I’m honored to bring the program its first Cup start. I’m sure it’s the first of many.”

The last few years have been tough for Harraka, who barely raced in 2011 and then struggled in his 11 NASCAR Truck Series races in 2012 with no top-15 finishes.

He has run in four Nationwide races over the last three years and hopes to run more of those later this season.

“The sheer quantity of opportunities out there are so much less by the nature of the structure of the sport. It makes it challenging to move up through the ranks,” Harraka said.

“We’ve made some progress. I’ve run some truck stuff. I’ve run some Nationwide stuff and now we’ll go run some Cup stuff.”

The 23-year-old graduate of Duke University will drive this weekend in the No. 52 car in a partnership between Brian Keselowski and Archie St. Hilaire with sponsorship from Hasa pool products.

Harraka ran well in West races at Sonoma, finishing second in 2010. He will run the West race in addition to the Cup race this weekend on the 1.99-mile road course.

“If there’s any place to do (my first Cup start), it’s Sonoma,” Harraka said. “You have to be reasonable with your expectations. I’m going to a track for my first Cup race to race against the best in the world.

“For the race team, it’s about having a solid day, minimizing our mistakes and running all the laps and having a decent finish. For me, it’s about learning as much as I possibly can.”

The car is a Ford built by Roush Fenway Racing and Harraka will have a Roush Yates engine.

Ben Leslie, a former Roush crew chief, will be the crew chief for Harraka.